Dominik Elsmann, Head of Department for Cross-border Public Transport, Aachener Verkehrsverbund GmbH (AVV), details the challenges and necessities of implementing cross-border public transport in Aachen, a region which is bordered by three different countries…
What are the challenges in delivering cross-border public transport? How have you managed to develop and implement cross-border transport and ticketing so far?
Aachen is a border region with three different nations surrounding it – the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium – that come together in a border triangle. In honesty, it is a challenge to work on improvements in cross-border public transport because infrastructure and the ability to deliver transport services differ from one side of the border to the other. The development of transport solutions that benefit all users needs to be worked at by those on all sides of Aachen’s borders. There has to be a willingness on each side of the border, and a political willingness also, to develop conditions and a framework that support what you want to achieve. Without this, you can have the best ideas but no way of implementing them. In the end it comes down to funding and the resources required, but ultimately, the implementation of cross-border public transport isn’t the core focus of each region. The authorities for each region across each border must focus on their own cities first and foremost, their place within their own national transport network and then as an additional responsibility they must focus on cross-border transit.